On a daily basis hospital staff members are outnumbered by patients, which results in heavy workloads and delayed tasks. This has become an agonizing issue when it involves delivering oral pain medication to a patient that is suffering, because as we all know, a minute in pain actually feels like 10 minutes. Even under optimal conditions it can take an average of 10 plus minutes after pressing the call button for a patient to receive painkilling medication.

This is what inspired Avancen to create the world’s first wireless, patient controlled analgesia (PCA) device called Medication on Demand (MOD®). The MOD® is equipped with the Digi RCM6600W system-on-module (SOM) for built-in intelligence, programmability and WiFi connectivity. This FDA approved device is used in hospitals and clinics saving time and making patients more comfortable in hospitals and clinics across the country.

The Starter Kit for evaluating the new Digi ConnectCore® for i.MX6UL System-on-Module (SOM) is now available. It delivers an extremely compact and flexible development and rapid prototyping kit as well as a reference design for the Digi ConnectCore® for i.MX6UL, which is suited for use in a wide range of connected applications.

The simplified but also rugged board design offers USB host/device connections, microSD storage and embedded expansion connectors for development and prototyping purposes. These include Grove
connectors, which allow you to instantly connect and integrate a wide range of compatible off-the-shelf sensors and peripherals, effortlessly.

Digi’s Yocto Project Linux BSP and software support is provided with full source code access straight out of the box. Whether you are building a connected device for medical, healthcare, energy or industrial applications, or prototyping new connected product concepts, the Digi ConnectCore® for i.MX6UL Starter Kit is the ideal platform to get you started. And if you need additional help with your project, Digi also offers professional support and design services to help you go to market smarter and faster.

Click here to learn more about the Digi ConnectCore® for i.MX6UL and buy your Starter Kit today!

Digi is excited to bring together the power and flexibility of the Digi XBee® ecosystem with Verizon, the world’s largest cellular network. Digi XBee® Cellular makes connecting your product easier by smoothing out the hardware, certifications, and development tools to configure and maintain your connected device.

Additional benefits of this pre-certified end device that is saving OEMs months of time and thousands of dollars:

The smallest footprint available (24mm x 33mm.)

Based on the 20-pin Digi XBee® footprint we all know and trust.

The best development tools to deploy and manage your network (XCTU, API, libraries.)

A bundled data plan will be available as an option, with the module “shipping hot,” fully pre-provisioned and ready to communicate over the cellular network right out of the box.

Digi XBee® Cellular will initially be available on the Verizon LTE Cat 1 network, followed by additional carrier support and new lower-power IoT Cellular standards such as LTE Cat M1 and LTE Cat NB1. Whatever the protocol, Digi XBee® Cellular will have a pin-compatible module so your design is ready for tomorrow. Samples are available now for development!

Click here for preliminary specs and to sign up for Digi XBee® Cellular updates. Or, give us a call at 877-912-3444 to learn more.

XBee MicroPython Examples
Professor and chief innovations officer at Digi, Rob Faludi put together a saga of XBee MircoPython examples to help guide your next big XBee project. See how running small amounts of code can complete big tasks.

Every day Digi works with customers around the world to deploy connected solutions that businesses rely on. Connected devices help people use data to make more informed decisions and modernize business operations. And, connected devices are modernizing our day-to-day life as well. Here are a few of the many companies we’re proud to work with that are using the Internet of Things (IoT) to make cities smarter, and our lives easier.

Many of us can’t be at home to sign for packages when they arrive, and the outdated delivery-release notes have become an invitation for criminals looking for easy thefts. We have busy schedules, and we don’t want to inconvenience our friends or neighbors to receive our packages, as they have busy schedules themselves. SmartBox decided to build a delivery system that’s safe and secure and most important, runs on your schedule.

SmartBox is the world’s first Internet of Things (IoT) smart delivery storage locker. With SmartBox, delivery services can leave a package safely in a locker in a lobby or public area for recipients to pick up at their convenience. Recipients will be notified via SMS message, and thanks to a Digi XBee module in every unit, can safely retrieve their package with a single-use passcode. Read the full story here >>.

Maintaining a vast and complex network has traditionally been done with copper 56k circuits at each site. However, the process is expensive and at high risk of damage from lightning strikes. ElectriCities recognized an opportunity to re-engineer a safer and more efficient solution.

They found a solution in Digi’s TransPort WR31 LTE router which was dependable enough to maintain a network connection for frequent meter reading, and flexible enough to support communications with Schneider, Itron, JEMStar and SEL devices. The implementation of this LTE solution saved over $300,000 annually on telemetry charges. Read the full story here >>.

For the great city of Toulouse in the south of France with over 1 million people, public transit is an essential part of daily life. The city has two subway lines, two trams lines, and 150 bus routes. When combined that’s over 120 million trips in the last year! The entire fleet of over 500 busses plus buses are equipped with a WiFi-based automatic vehicle monitoring systems (AVMSs) that connects with a backend system, but only when it reached one of the Tisséo depots and didn’t provide any valuable real-time data.

That’s when Tisséo turned to the Digi TransPort® WR44 R to deliver cellular communications. With the new installation, each new Lineo rapid-transit vehicle will have reliable communications for onboard systems such as security video, fare collection, CAD/AVL, VoIP dispatch, and passenger WiFi. This enables the busses to be constantly connected to a backend system offering valuable real-time data such as location, speed, and next stops. Read the full story here >>.

As most football fans know, nothing is more mission critical than instantaneous score and time keeping to deliver a successful game-day experience. The Daktronics scoreboard and timing solutions installed at the U.S. Bank Stadium are equipped with Digi Neo ® PCI Express serial port to ensure accurate information is being sent to all the stadium’s scoreboards and clocks in a timely manner.

Digi Neo ® PCI Express serial port was chosen because it outperformed other solutions during testing and for its reliability. This reliability has been established by providing mission-critical connections for many of Minnesota’s successful athletic venues like Target Field (Minnesota Twins), Xcel Energy Center (Minnesota Wild) and TCF Bank Stadium (University of Minnesota), with new equipment currently being installed at Target Center (Minnesota Timberwolves.) Not to mention, Daktronics solutions utilizing Digi connectivity solutions are in use at half of all MLS facilities, 75 percent of NBA facilities, 80 percent of NHL and NFL facilities, and 100 percent of MLB facilities!

What does it take to provide training, emergency and technical assistance and communications to 90 member municipalities and 1.2 million customers?

ElectriCities, which maintains this complex network that covers thousands of square miles and collects data from a variety of meters and telemetry equipment in order to offer communications and management services to its member utilities, decided on an LTE solution. The LTE solution gives ElectriCities a dependable network connection for frequent meter reading, while being flexible enough to support communications with Schneider, Itron, JEMStar and SEL devices.

The Digi TransPort® WR31 LTE router from Digi International gave ElectriCities the right combination of both reliability and flexibility: achieved thorough VPN performance and HALT testing, backed by a 5-year warranty, via the software-defined multicarrier support that permits the same WR31 unit to switch between Verizon, AT&T and all other North American LTE carriers.

In a recent article for Network World, Deepak Puri nicely summarizes how the Internet of Things is improving the flow of traffic in smart cities. He references data from the Economist that sitting in traffic costs Americans $1700 per year in lost productivity and gas while our cars idle on the freeway (not to mention the stress and anxiety!).

But smart cities are reducing those costs by connecting sensors such as inductive loops buried in the roadway, traffic cameras, and dynamic messages boards, smart cities around the world are improving the flow of traffic.

What’s more, smart cities can take advantage of these connected assets, and improve security and be more efficient in dispatching highway patrol or a service truck for a stalled vehicle. With high-bandwidth 4G LTE connections, Digi TransPort WR31 is helping smart cities around the globe connect their critical infrastructure in ways that improve services that ultimately makes our commute to work in the morning a little less stressful.